Even More Asbestos Found In Claire’s Makeup Products

The tween retailer Claire’s has been hit with another product recall after asbestos was found in more of their cosmetic products, three months after the Food and Drug Administration found the same substance in other cosmetics.

The FDA said Friday that Claire’s voluntarily recalled its JoJo Siwa Makeup set (SKU #888711136337, Batch/Lot No. S180109). Beauty Plus, a company based in Shanghai, also voluntarily recalled its Global Contour Effects Palette 2 (Batch No. S1603002/PD-C1179) for the same reason.

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that once was commonly used in building construction materials and is a known carcinogen. Exposure to asbestos fibers and particles may cause lung disease.

Until recently, there was no far-reaching ban on the use of asbestos in the U.S., though the FDA began testing products for the presence of the carcinogen after local reports surfaced cases of asbestos in makeup kits. In April, the Environmental Protection Agency banned the manufacturing and importing of asbestos in the U.S. in an attempt to regulate it.

A spokesperson for Claire’s defended its products in a statement to HuffPost and said that “small trace amounts” of asbestos are “acceptable” under European and Canadian safety standards. The company also noted that the FDA only detected asbestos in the powder eyeshadow portion of the makeup kit. 

“Claire’s stands behind the safety of this item and all other Claire’s cosmetic items, as such small trace amounts are considered acceptable under European and Canadian cosmetic safety regulations,” the company said in an email. “In addition, last year Claire’s moved to talc-free cosmetic manufacturing to prevent any further concerns about talc contamination.”

The company will provide a refund to customers who purchased the product. 

This is the second time Claire’s had to recall products because of FDA-detected asbestos. It’s the third time asbestos has been detected in its products since 2017.

In March, the FDA confirmed that the harmful mineral fiber was found in three of the company’s talc-based makeup products: Claire’s Eye Shadows, Claire’s Compact Powder and Claire’s Contour Palette.

The federal agency said the company had “refused to comply” with the FDA’s recall in March, however, Claire’s refuted the claim and said the products had been pulled from its stores “out of an abundance of caution.” 

Claire’s recalled some of its products in 2017 after a concerned mother from Rhode Island got her daughters’ Claire’s eyeshadow tested for toxic substances and found asbestos in it, CNN reported at the time.

Cara Tampot of the cancer patient advocacy group The Mesothelioma Center said that Claire’s could be doing more to protect its consumers against asbestos.

“The latest recall of the company’s JoJo Siwa Makeup Set appears to show the retailer is still selling products that are potentially harmful to children,” Tampot said. “It seems as if Claire’s could be doing more to protect kids from asbestos exposure, and it is our opinion the company should be held accountable for selling products containing the deadly carcinogen if the exposure results in the development of an asbestos-related disease.”